I like to lift heavy things, make colorful food, write, and talk about pop culture.

Mindful Eating, Good Food Takes Time

The big thing about food and eating that I think we do bring a lot of times is we cut quality options in favor of convenience. I get that there are simply never enough hours in the day, but eating and cooking should be enjoyable processes. I would say most of my meals don’t take up more than twenty minutes at a time and there are always ways in which to plan ahead of time! This is one facet of my life where mindfulness and care has really worked.

Here’s what I ate this week!

I started my week off with some delicious pancakes topped with toasted coconut because I can and it appears more indulgent that way.

Since I worked the polls and had to be up bright and early, I prepared a batch of baked oats for both my mom and myself. This recipe includes pumpkin purée, maple peanut butter, cinnamon pecans, pumpkin spice, dates, and mashed banana. It was rich, gooey, filling, and energizing the next day heated up!

To add to the pumpkin festivities, I threw some pumpkin purée into a mixture of egg whites, milk, and pumpkin spice, drenched two pieces of my favorite whole wheat sour dough bread and grilled them up for some fancy French toast. On their own they were divine.

But with some chocolate peanut butter, jelly, and toasted coconut on top, they were another level.

More oatmeal, this time of the stove top variety with my regular peanut butter and jelly and more toasted coconut. It’s kind of a thing now. I love hot oatmeal on a cool morning.

Here we have more pancakes, but not my usual recipe. I researched online and found a great whole wheat and oat pancake concoction and of course topped them with more peanut butter, jelly, and coconut. I’m still learning the quirks of the new stove top, but the browning didn’t affect the taste!

Toast topped with peanut butter never goes wrong, especially if you need a quick, portable breakfast as I did on Saturday. Filling, healthy, and energizing, especially when accompanied with fruit.

I ended my week with two over easy eggs with some toast topped with butter and jelly and a big bowl of fruit. Divine.

Lunches this week included many fancy salads. This one includes chickpeas, tons of fresh produce, cinnamon pecans, and a side of leftover zucchini fries and a piece of toast. I’m loving the new salad bowls!

I had to create something fast, healthy, and delicious on Tuesday and thanks to leftovers, I was up for the challenge. Chickpeas, mushrooms, and peppers over brown rice and a side of more zucchini fries and asparagus.

Another salad quickly, though lovingly tossed together with fresh vegetables and feta cheese and a cup of Chobani coconut yogurt and some chopped up pecans.

Unknowing that pizza was also going to be dinner, I thought I would try something other than a salad and grilled myself an English muffin pizza with sauce and cheese, broccoli, summer squash, and zucchini on the side as well as some cheezits.

A leftover piece of pizza and a big salad was in order for Friday. I’m not sure there is a better food combination than pizza and salad. Oh wait, peanut butter and jelly…. Peanut butter and chocolate….

On Saturday, I met up with some of my family for a lunch outing. Fried seafood is not my thing, but I did enjoy a nice burger and a couple of fries. The buttered, grilled roll makes the difference! An amazing peanut butter Oreo ice cream cone pretty much completed my eating for the day, but I forgot to snap a picture!

Lunch was a bit strange on Sunday because I ate it in different parts. First was a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios with chopped banana and blueberries as well as a cup of yogurt. After my workout I had a big salad and a bowl of popcorn.

For dinners, I had lemon chicken smothered in mushrooms, brown spinach rice, and asparagus.

Whole wheat vegetable lasagna with some marinara and chicken sausage on top and sautéed spinach on the side was perfect after a long day.

Next came a piece of steak covered in peppers with a baked potato with a dollop of butter and sour cream, and some grilled broccoli, summer squash, and zucchini.

Girls night included take out pizza, a toasted ravioli, and a chicken wing. I also had some leftover broccoli, which I forced myself to eat before enjoying another slice of pizza.

Chipotle honey BBQ salmon with a piece of Mexican street corn and grilled zucchini and summer squash was enjoyed at a restaurant with my parents. It was hard to opt for the veggies instead of rice or beans, but since I enjoy chips and salsa more, I knew it was the right choice.

After that sizable lunch on Saturday, I wasn’t feeling a full fledged dinner. Instead I had some popcorn with my cousin Mikey who tried to teach me how to play this video game thing that I’m still confused by.

On Sunday, since my eating had been so spaced out, I was craving peanut butter and jelly on toast for dinner and went for it. Sometimes you gotta have what’s calling to you!

Though I missed one this week, we have to admit that I’m getting way better at remembering to snap pictures before I dig into my meals!